LAW & ORDER:

THE FOURTH YEAR

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Because of: cases dealing with sexual crimes, language, violence

Rated:

Law & Order continued pulling no punches on primetime with the introduction of new characters into the crime drama that already had and audiences talking. With its "ripped from the headlines" cases and occasional perusal of the characters' personal lives, it entered into one of the most compelling seasons.

When a convicted pedophile is shot and killed on a controversial talk show, Detectives Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Mike Logan (Chris Noth) are convinced there's more to the fatal shooting than an angry father gone haywire. Their investigation winds up on the doorstep of the talk show host, known for his morally ambivalent and often cruel tactics, but District Attorney Adam Schiff (Stephen Hill) is reluctant to prosecute such a well-known television personality. His executive chief prosecutor Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty) believes the shooter has evidence that can help them convict, but the shooter is reluctant to involve his abused son in the investigation. Together with his new assistant Claire Kincaid (Jill Hennessy), Stone pulls no punches in order to bring this ego-inflated showman to trial.

With the transferal of Donald Cragan to another department, the new head cop in the precinct is Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson). Strong, tough, and personable, occasionally she butts heads with her ambitious, logic-driven male detectives. Ben and Claire also run into a few violent disagreements and mishaps along the lonely road that leads to justice, but inevitably all cases are brought to the court, whether they involve extortion and kidnapping or harassment and blackmail. From corrupt judges to religious fanatics, each intense episode features an host of fascinating plot twists and criminal cases that get us into the legal minds of the justice system. If you ever thought being a cop was easy, think again. And if you ever assumed you get to hear all the evidence at trial, you're wrong.

One of the more valued aspects of the series, beyond its conversation-starters about American justice and morality in the system, is its surprisingly accurate view into the life of a New York City police detective, and the Prosecutor that often has to take very little evidence to trial. There are appeals and bench warnings, arrest warrants and evidence thrown out because of inappropriate police action. There are the politics involved and occasional clashing of interests. The criminals they are hesitant to prosecute due to their power and prestige, the low-life's they give deals to in order to catch much bigger fish. It's good stuff and the introduction finally of such television personalities as Claire Kincaid and Anita Van Buren brought an already decent show into its stride, known as the "golden years."

Numerous episodes this season are intense in their depiction of crimes, but for the most part it's a solid succession of instances to intrigue the audience. Some cases are related to sexual escapades because, after all, crime is motivated by greed, revenge, or sex. "Sweeps" talks about a pedophile in non-graphic terms. "Discord" becomes explicit in its verbal description and investigation of a rape case (a young woman accuses a rock star of assaulting her). Numerous cases reference adulterous affairs. A couple make out passionately before discovering a body in an alley. "Censure" forces a former adulterous affair of Claire's to the surface. "Mayhem," a cynical slant on the "day from hell" in the NYC office, implies a woman has castrated her husband after learning of his adultery.

"Apocrypha" revolves around a cult leader thrown out of the Christian church for his subtle claims that he is the messiah. Most of those involved are cultural Catholics, but it doesn't build a case against organized religion. Logan claims that due to his abuse at the hands of his Catholic mother, he'll never enter another church, but crosses himself poignantly at the end of the episode. In "Sanctuary," a black minister ignites racial passions when a Jewish hit-and-run driver isn't prosecuted for his crimes. If I had one complaint it would be this season's inability to grant explanations. It never tells us where Captain Cragan went, and gives Anita no defining entrance. Claire resigns in one episode only to be back at work in the next, without granting us the opportunity to witness her return. The season also featured rising tempers between Adam Schiff and Ben Stone, a precursor for the final episode in which Stone resigns, leaving the door wide open for season five's introduction of Jack McCoy.